It's hard to imagine anybody other than Harrison Ford playing the legend that is Indiana Jones, but there's an alternate world in which '80s half-icon Tom Selleck was almost cast in the role instead. Which, given that moustache, would have dated Steven Spielberg's movie all out of proportion. Can you imagine how cheesy Raiders might have looked now? Geez. The story goes that Spielberg wanted to cast Harrison Ford in the role, but George Lucas - who had just worked with Ford on both American Graffiti and Star Wars - felt like they should use somebody else. You know, just for the sake of variation. After a successful audition, Tom Selleck - who wasn't very famous at the time, best known as the man on the Marlboro cigarette billboards - was offered the part. As fate would have it, though, CBS decided to pick up the pilot for a little show called Magnum P.I., and Selleck - due to contractual obligations - was forced to do that instead. Bummer. Six weeks before shooting was set to begin, Harrison Ford - the right man for the job all along - was brought back on board because Spielberg and Lucas both realised that they should have used him in the first place; the the rest (as they say) is history. Selleck enjoyed a lot of success with Magnum P.I., of course, so you can't really feel too bad for him. Thank God the role went to Harrison Ford, though - nobody would have done it better. Like this article? Are there any other ways in which Indiana Jones might have turned out completely different that we somehow missed? Let us know in the comments section.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
